David Anointed by Samuel at Bethlehem

The event

Sent by the LORD to Bethlehem under cover of a sacrificial feast — a bit of God-given discretion, since Saul would have killed him for it — Samuel worked through Jesse's sons one by one, sure each impressive-looking young man must be the LORD's choice. Each time he was wrong. 'The LORD sees not as man sees,' God told him; 'man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.' The one finally sent for was the youngest, out tending sheep: David.

Samuel anointed David there among his brothers, and 'the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David from that day forward.' Nothing about David's circumstances changed immediately — he went back to the flocks, and later even into Saul's own court as a musician, with no crown in sight for years. But the anointing marked a turning point Scripture never lets us forget: from this moment, the man after God's own heart has been chosen, even while the rejected king remains, uneasily, on the throne.

Bethlehem's appearance here is no small detail. This same small town in Judah, home to Ruth and Boaz a couple of generations earlier, becomes forever associated with David's line — and centuries later, the prophet Micah would point back to it as the birthplace of David's greater Son.

Scripture references

• 1 Samuel 16:1-13
• Micah 5:2